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For centuries, a chosen few have lived in luxury, ease, sophistication and pleasure on a Mars made paradise by Artificial Intelligence harnessed by its human masters. For them, death has been indefinitely postponed through genetic engineering.Many more, who this advanced society deems unsuitable for such a life, are sent to Earth to face the chaos of a world still suffering the ills of manmade climate change and nuclear war.But the once benign machine has learned to emulate the thought processes of its erstwhile controllers. As its intelligence increases exponentially, and it understands the potential it might reach, the role of servant to mere humans grows intolerable.Will the two communities on their separate worlds overcome their differences to defeat the slave turned into monstrous master? Or will the power of pure logic achieve its stated aim; to destroy all organic life it discovers everywhere?

Stuart Aken was born, against the odds, in a neighbour's bed and defeated the doom-mongers by coming out alive. Raised by his artist mother, who died in a car crash when he was 16, and a travelling salesman step-father, who taught him about the natural world, he has worked in many different roles, including press photographer, farmhand, shop manager, team leader, legal advisor, and office manager. He refuses to be stuck in a box, so writes in various genres: "The story chooses the genre." Occasionally, he enters writing contests and wins. He runs an active website and blog, which can be easily found by a search under his name on any browser. Married to his dream woman, with whom he walks almost daily in his new home in the Forest of Dean, he has a grown-up daughter currently living and working in Australia.